How to Add an Admin to Your Ground Branch Server

Admins on a Ground Branch server are managed through the file Admin.ini. The fastest way, however, is the admin setup password: it makes you a SuperAdmin directly in the game without having to look up any SteamID first.

Method 1: Using the admin setup password

This is the fastest route and works entirely in the game.

1. Start the server
   Start your server once via the dashboard so the configuration files get created.

2. Connect via SFTP
   Connect to your server via SFTP.

3. Read the password
   Open the following file and note down the password it contains:

   /GroundBranch/ServerConfig/AdminSetupPassword.txt
   

4. Join the server
   Launch Ground Branch and join your server – see Join Server.

5. Open the console
   Press the ` key (backtick, left of the 1) in the game to open the console.

6. Run the command
   Enter the following command and replace <password> with the value from the file:

   admin setup <password>
   

   You immediately become SuperAdmin on that server.

Method 2: Editing Admin.ini

Alternatively you can add admins directly in the configuration file. For that you need the player's SteamID64 – a 17-digit number starting with 7656.

1. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard. The file is only read on server start.

2. Connect via SFTP
   Connect to your server via SFTP.

3. Open Admin.ini
   Open the following file:

   /GroundBranch/ServerConfig/Admin.ini
   

4. Add the admin
   Add one line per admin inside the section [/Script/RBZooKeeper.ZKAdmin]:

   [/Script/RBZooKeeper.ZKAdmin]
   Admins=(Name="JoeBlow",UniqueId="76561198012345678",ContactInfo="",Group="SuperAdmin")
   

   Field	Meaning
   Name	Freely chosen display name, only for your own overview
   UniqueId	The player's SteamID64 (17 digits)
   ContactInfo	Optional note field, may stay empty
   Group	The admin group whose permissions the player receives

5. Start the server
   Save the file and start your server.

Admin groups

Which commands a group may use is also defined in the Admin.ini. Every group gets its own AdminGroups= line, placed above the admins:

AdminGroups=(Name="SuperAdmin",Commands=("all"))
AdminGroups=(Name="Moderator",Commands=("kick","ban","changemap"))

Open the admin menu

Once you are an admin, there are three ways to reach the admin menu in the game:

• The F8 key
• The ESC menu and the admin button there
• The console (`) and the command admin

In the admin menu you manage players (kick and ban), the map change and map list as well as the admin list itself.

Further admin commands